Manhole cover



Feb. ll, l1930. D, s, JACQBUS 1,746,700

' MANHLE COVER riginal Filed FebQ24, 1922 mlm 'N mit;

n Hl/ Patented Feb. 11,1930v UNITED s'ra'rlas LPAITENn OFFICE A:DAVIDV S. JACOBUS, F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASVSIGNOR TO THE BABCOCK '&

WIICOX COMPANY, 0F BAYONNE, NEW `'I'ERSEY, .A CORPORATION 0F .NEW JERSEY y MANHOLE covEn Application :Bled February 24, 1922, Serial No. 538,881. Renewed July 21, 1928.

My present invention lrelates to man-hole covers foruse at hi h temperatures, and par- =ticularly to means y which such a cover lo- 'cated internally of a drum may be held tightly against the drum, or against a gasket resting on `the drum, to form a gas or liquid tight joint.

It has been the practice in some cases to hole opening by means of a bolt or bolts attached to the cover andpassingthrough an outer member extending across the man-hole.

In case a man-hole cover is used in connection withav drum Which-is maintained at a high temperature, such as in an oil-cracking.,

still, where the temperature is in the neighv borhood of' 800 F., troubleA may be experienced through the stretching of the bolts and the springing of the member extending across the man -hole opening. This is caused through the initial stress to which the bolts are subjected in tightening them up and to the eli'ect of expansion'V due to-the heat to which the drum 1s subjected, which produces an additional strain on the bolts through the bolts being colder than the metal forming the sides of the man-hole opening, which directly resists the stress on the bolts. This action lis a marked one where the apparatus is exposed to the wind and weather whlch cools the bolts to a considerably lower temperature than the drum.

In my invention I so proportion the outer member that it maiy springandbe permanently deformed be ore the bolts will stretch and I make it of such a form that if it is deformed in one direction by the pressure ofthe bolts, it maybe reversed so that the pressure of the bolts will force it backagain v invention consists in the arrangement here' inafter described and illustrated in the anelevation' of a porton of a rum havin a man-hole cover late, and Fig. 2 is a sectlon of Fig. 1 along t e line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

L1ke`ference characters indicate likepartsin the several views. n i

In the drawings, 10 represents a portion of the drum having a man-hole opening, the edges of the drum adjacent the opening being turned inward in the usual manner to .the cover` maybe remove from within the t hold such covers against the seat of the man- Y drum and replaced, if so desired. The cover 12 has a machined face to contact with the face.-11 so as to provide a tight 'oint when the cover l2 is drawn toward tlie face 11- through the usev of gasket at 11. It also makes a reasonably tight fit along the oval edge 13 of the part of the cover -'Which projects inside of the man-hole opening. A This is essential when certain forms of gaskets, made of a more or lessj soft material, are

used inI order toprevent, the pressure from forcing out the gasket. j Thei cover may be hinged so as to swing inward, such a hinge being shown'as composed oa strap 14 fastened to the inner side of the cover 12 and pivoted on a double pintl'e 15, supported on a bracket 15. If desired, however, the cover l2 may be unconnected with the drum save through the bolts and cover 16 which f hold it in place.

In the form illustrated, the outer member 16 is made up of a wrought metal disc elliptical in outline and having a contacting face' 17 arranged to abutagainst the outer surface ofthe drum 10. The outer member 16 is symmetrical around the center line of its cross-sectiomas is shown best in Fig. 2, and

has on its outside a contacting surface 18 vwhich is symmetrical around its center line with the contacting surface 17.

From the cover 412 projects anumber of standing bolts 19 and the outer member 16 is provided with holes'through which the outer ends of these bolts may project, so that when the nuts 2O on the-bolts 19 are drawn up, the outer member 16 will'act as an abutment to these nuts to draw the member l2 toward the face 11.v It can` be readily seen that if after setting' up the nuts in the way described, lthe sides ofthe man-'hole o ening 21 are expanded bymeans of the hig tem Parature 0f the duim. end. the' belts 19 are et 5 bolts 19 are provided on opposite sides of the outer member 16,-these seats being symmetrical around the center line of the cross-section.

In practice, if the nuts 20 are drawn up sufficiently hard to act in addition to the strain due. tovariations in temperature to spring the outer member 16 so as todistort it and causeit to dish7 toward the left of Fig. 2, such distortion might be continued with successive tightenings until the outer member 16 would have been distorted so as,

to lead to bending of the bolts and nullify its ability to hold the cover 12 in position. Vith the arrangement which I have illustrated, however, as soon as the outer member 16 springs to the left of Fig. 2, it may be removed from the bolts 19 and reversed so as to bring the convex side produced by the dishing effect to the outside. Any successive deformation of the outer member would then tend to straighten it. In other Words, by my arrangement I have produced an outer member which can be made of wrought metal so as to withstand a great strain from the bolts 19 while, at the same time, it will yield before the bolts stretch and through being reversible will obviate the difficulties arising from the flexibility of such wrought metals. With the parts proportioned as shown in the drawings whichA illustrate the outer portion of the cover member 16 bevelled at the surface 17 where it engages the outer surface of the drum, the plate will be distorted or deformed at its edge before it is distorted at its middle portion. This feature'is important sinoe'distortion of the plate, at its middle portion would tend to spring the bolts and cause them to bind when the plate is taken off.

In the arrangement illustrated, I have shown a relatively light fastening plate 22 having holes through which two of the main holding bolts 19 may readily pass, and a hole at the center through which a bolt 23' attached to the middle of the cover 12 may extend,

i this bolt 23 being provided with a nut 24.

In practice, the cover 12 is swung into a closed posit-ion and the fastening plate 22 placed' over the bolt 23, after which the nut 24 is drawn up lightly to hold the cover 12 in place under conditions which will permit the operator to make sure that the gasket whichcomes at 11 between the cover .12 and the edges of the opening, is properly placed and that the cover 12 is properly located. Then the outer member 16 is placed on the bolts 19 and the nuts 20 drawn up to give the necessary tightness to the joint at 11. Y

The oval opening of the man-hole is indicated in dot-and-dash lines in 2 in order to show that the cover 12 and the bolts 19 lconnected ltheretowill pass through the :nan-

hole opening.

It will be understood that the shapes and dimensions of the various parts can be widely varied. The important element in my cover plate is that the surface of contact between the plate and the edge of the opening shall be arranged so that the plate may be reversed whereby it will function precisely the `same regardless of which side of the plate is presented to the drum.

I claim 1. In combination, a man-hole cover adapted to close the interior of an opening in a drum and extending over the edges of the opening, a holding plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum, bolts extending through the cover and the plate, said plate being symmetrical around the center line of its cross-section, a temporary fastening plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum between the cover and the plate and arranged to hold the cover in position When the holding late is removed, and a fastener extending rom the cover to the temporary fastening plate.

2. In combination, a man-hole cover adapted to close the interior of an opening in a drum and having a portion extending over the .edges of the opening, a plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum, and bolts extending through the coverand the plate and adapted to draw and hold said portion of the cover against the drum, said plate spanning said openingand having a bevelled face at the line of contact with the drum, and said plate being symmetrical around the center line of its cross-section.

3. In combination, a man-hole cover adapted to close the interior-of an opening in a drum and having a portion extending -over 'the edges of the opening, a plate arranged to Contact with the outer face of the drum, the said plate being symmetrically arranged with respect to a median plane passing through said plate and parallel to the faces thereof` and bolts extending throught-he cover and attached to the plate and adapted to draw and hold said portion of the cover against the drum, said plate being also symmetrical around the center line of its cross-,section and bevelled at its edges and throughout its periphery on opposite sides.

4. In combination, a man-hole cover adapted to close the interior of an opening in a drum and having a portion extending over the edges of the opening, a plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum, and bolts extending through the cover and the plate and adapted to draw and hold said portion of the cover against the drum, said plate spanning said opening andhaving a bevelled face and contacting with said drum along the Y bevelled face only of the plate.

5. In combination, a man-hole cover adapt drum and havin'g a portion extending over the edges of the opening, a plate arranged4 to Contact with the outer face of theY drum, the said plate being symmetrically arranged with respect to a median plane passing through said plate and parallel to the faces thereof, and bolts extending through the cover and attached to the plate and adapted to draw and hold said portion of the cover against the drum, said plate being bevelled at its edges and throughout its periphery on opposite sides and contacting with said drum along the bevelled face only of the plate.

6. In combination, a manhole cover adapted to close the interior of an opening in a drum and having a portion extending over the edges of the openm a plate arranged to contact with the outer ace of the drum, and bolts extending through the cover and the plate and adapted to draw and hold said prtion of the cover against the drum, said plate spanning said opening and having a bevelled face and contacting with said drum along the bevelled face only of the plate-and being so proportioned that it will be deformed at its bevelled face beforel it is deformed at its middle part should there be an excessive strain brought 'to bear on it by the bolts.

CII

7. In combination, a drum providedwith an `inturned flange forming an opening into the drum and forming with the drum sheet an annular curved portion, a manhole cover adapted tovclose the interior of said opening and having a portion extendin over the edge ing plate is removed, and a fastener extending from the coverto the temporary fastening plate.

10. In combination, a pressure vessel pro-- cover and said plate to tightly close said cover against its seat on said flange, said plate being constructed andi arran ed to deform without injury when said tu ular flange expands more-than do said bolts.

l 11. Incombination, a pressure vessel provided wth an opening and formed with a tubular flange of substantial length surrounding said opening, a 4manhole cover adapted to close said' opening on the pressure side of said opening, a member adapted to contact with the .opposite end of said fiange and extending across said opening, connecting means between said cover and said member for drawing towards each other said cover and member to tightly close said cover against its sea-t on said flange, said member being constructed an'd arranged to deform without injury when said tubular flange expands more than said connecting means.

DAVID s. .nicous` of said opening, a plate bevel ed at its edge and throughout its periphery on opposite sides, said plate contacting at its bevelled edge with said'annular portion between said flange and saiddrum sheet, and bolts extending through said cover and said plate and adapted to draw and hold said cover against the drum.

8. In combination, a manhole cover adapted to close the interior of an opening in a drum and extending over the edges of the opening, a holding plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum, bolts extending through the cover and the plate, a temporary fastening plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum'between the cover and the plate and yarranged to hold the cover in positlon when the' holding plate is removed, and a fastener extending from the coverto the temporary `fastening plate.

9. In combination, a manhole cover adapted to close the interior vof an opening in a drum and extending over the edg'es of the opening, a holding plate arranged to contact with the outer face of the drum, connectin means between said holding plate and sai cover, aztemporar fastening plate arranged to contact with t e'outerfface of the` drum between the cover and the' late and arranged to hold the cover in position when the holdiso 

